Notes from the Station

Species: Yellow-rumped Warbler
Most recent capture date: 1/23/2022
Age: at least one year old
Sex: female

Notes: We try to identify the subspecies of our Yellow-rumped Warblers, but this bird could not be identified because she has traits of two subspecies: a Myrtle Warbler face but an Audubon’s Warbler tail. She may have unusual plumage for her subspecies, or she may be a hybrid between the two.

Species: Northern Flicker (subspecies: Red-shafted Flicker)
Most recent capture date: 1/15/2022
Earliest capture date: 10/13/2021
Age: at least three years old
Sex: male

​Notes: Flickers are covered in patterns and colors, as you can see in this close-up of the bird’s spread wing. This individual was caught at the same time as two others, a very unusual occurrence for us – flickers aren’t usually flockers!

Species: Downy Woodpecker
Most recent capture date: 1/15/2022
Earliest capture date: 12/8/2021
Age: at least three years old
Sex: female

​Notes: Woodpeckers have unusually complex feather replacement patterns. The arrangement of the multiple generations of feathers on this bird’s wings – some feathers grown in recently, others faded and worn – tells us that she is an older bird.

Species: Yellow-rumped Warbler, subspecies: Myrtle Warbler
Most recent capture date: 1/9/2022
Earliest capture date: 10/2/2021 at Rocky Point Bird Observatory, BC, Canada
Age: between 7 and 10 months
Sex: male

​Notes: It’s rare and exciting to catch birds banded by other banding stations. This young fellow was banded on the west coast of Canada. He brought a friend, too: we caught a second Myrtle Warbler banded at that same Canadian banding station as well.

Species: Bewick’s Wren
Most recent capture date: 1/15/2022
Earliest capture date: 11/25/2018
Age: three years 6 months
Sex: male

Species: House Wren
Most recent capture date: 1/09/2022
Age: at least six months old

​Notes: My life in ornithology started 15 years ago with a graduate student asking me, “Do you know what a House Wren is?” (I did not!) I have learned, banded, and studied many species since then, but I will always have a special fondness for this “plain” little bird.

Species: Anna’s Hummingbird
Most recent capture date: 1/08/2022
Age: Less than one month old
Sex: male

​Notes: We know that Anna’s Hummingbirds can nest in the winter in California, but it was still a bit of a shock to catch this brand-new hummingbird, probably just a few days out of the nest. He was still growing in all of his flight feathers, and his bill was extremely short and covered in the tiny grooves (“striations”) that distinguish a juvenile bill. At this age his mother will still be feeding him.

Species: Yellow-rumped Warbler, subspecies: Myrtle Warbler
Most recent capture date: 1/08/2022
Age: at least 1 and 1/2 years old
Sex: male

​Notes: Yellow-rumped Warblers, or “butter-butts,” are our most numerous winter warbler. We get both the Audubon’s and Myrtle subspecies, as well as indeterminate birds that may be hybrids. This bird’s pale eyebrows are a specifically Myrtle trait. We also look at patterns of black and white on specific feathers to determine individuals’ age and sex.

Species: California Scrub-jay
Most recent capture date: 1/08/2022

​Notes: Scrub-jays really like to hold onto things with their feet. Usually we give them a pen to hold and they are content with that, but this fellow threw the pen away multiple times – not dropped the pen, THREW it – to grasp my hands while I measured him. After we released him I found that his sharp claws had drawn blood!

Species: Bewick’s Wren
Most recent capture date: 1/02/2022
Earliest capture date: 11/25/2018
Age: 3 and 1/2 years old
Sex: male

​Notes: This bird has been caught in the breeding season as well as the winter. I wonder how many of his chicks we have banded?
In the background of this photo you can see the individually-numbered metal bands that we put on the birds’ legs. We store the bands on wire loops for easy access, with circular tags indicating the band size. Birds have a variety of leg sizes, so we need a variety of band sizes.